March 3

By fulfillment, Scripture means the completion of a promise previously mentioned in the Old Testament. Hosea’s words said “that what the Lord said through the prophet might be fulfilled: ‘Out of Egypt I called my son.’” What Hosea means is that what the Lord promises is eventually fulfilled through the works of a prophet. The words of Hosea are a lament of God over Israel’s faithfulness during their trek across the wilderness under Moses. We don’t usually think of the past as something that awaits fulfillment, but Israel’s past is a template for the future to use. Israel looked to the past to see God’s love for them in times of need. In the New Testament, we see the fulfillment of a promise by God, the fulfillment of Emmanuel. Emmanuel is Israel’s hope.  In Luke 1, it speaks about the coming of John the Baptist, which is very similar to the story of Abraham and Sarah. Zechariah and Elizabeth are both old but God promises them a son, just as He did to Abraham and Sarah. In Luke 1: 32-33 it states that “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” The original purpose for the kingship of Israel was a failure, but once God was able to back the king (David), everything was okay. David was the pinnacle of kingship in Israel and having a prophet come from the same line as David is essential, especially if his kingdom will never end. Zechariah’s song in Luke 1 states that “he has come to his people and redeemed them” similar to how Noah was the one redeeming quality before the flood occurred. Mark 1 states that Joseph is the son of David, important since Joseph is not the biological father of Jesus, but still has the same importance in his bloodline. Joseph coming from a great king means that Jesus would come from the great king as well, Luke just states it in a more metaphorical way than Matthew does.